Cartridge trimmer



y 7, 1966 H. E. LEWIS 3,251,114

CARTRIDGE TRIMMER Filed July 51, 1963 1 133 b J 1 35 16 37|gl8 10 l3 L '5 Hr- 20 n 1 11 7 2| s2 as 29 14 I2 u Q 22 6 2E 22 INVENTOR Howard E lemis.

United States Patent 3,251,114 CARTRIDGE TRIMMER Howard E. Lewis, 726 W. Kivett St., Asheboro, N.C.

Filed July 31, 1963, Ser. No. 298,978

4 Claims. (Cl. 291.32)

This invention relates to a tool used in the gunsmiths art for the shortening of rifle cartridges. This operation is necessary for changing cartridges from one length to another in custom rifle work.

Cartridge trimmers, or case trimmers as they are some times called, are usually made as a bench tool having a hand crank. The trimmer is, -therefore,'a bulky device that cannot very well be carried in ones pocket, as gunsmithing is an art that is sometimes practiced by the connoisseum of small firearms of the rifle class as a hobby rather than as a means of likelihood.

It is, therefore, the prime object of this invention to provide a cartridge trimmer, which I personally call a rifle cartridge cutter, that has a minimum number of parts and therefore is a compact tool that can readily be carried in ones pocket.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge trimmer that can be used with or without a cartridge resizing die.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge trimmer that will produce a trimmed cartridge required no other operation other than deburring the inside mouth of the rifle cartridge.

Another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge trimmer that will cut 011? any desired length of the cartridge that may range from .22 to .45 caliber.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a cartridge trimmer that can be used with equal success by the inexperienced or the beginner in the art of gunsmithing as well as by the professional gunsmith.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, and combination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, specifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of this invention taken substantially along line 22 of FIGURE 3 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIGURE 3 is a top view of this invention.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of this invention taken substantially along line 44 of FIGURE 1 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIGURE Sis a sectional view of this invention taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIGURE 1 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows.

FIGURE 6 is a pictorial view of this invention ready for use.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawing.

' In the drawing I have used the numeral 10 to designate a rifle cartridge trimmer, which is made of hardened steel or its equivalent, and which embodies a frame 11 having a normally horizontal bed 12 that has one end terminating in a hollow gear box 13 and the other end terminating in a downwardly extending member 14 that is at right angle to the aforesaid bed 12, which is provided with recessed V-guides or ways, as they are sometimes called, in which is slidably fitted a mating member 15, on one end of which is mounted the trimming roller slide 16 having a horizontally disposed internally threaded opening in which screws the slide driving screw which it terminates with securement to the bevel gear 20 that is in right-angle engagement with the bevel gear 21 that is secured on the upper end of the vertically disposed trimmer drive gear shaft 22, Which extends vertically downward through the knurled handle 23, in which the aforesaid drive gear shaft 22 freely rotates. The lower end of the shaft 22 is secured in the upper end of the knurled knob 24 by means of the set screw 25.

Returning now to the already mentioned downwardly extending member 14, as it is shown in FIGURE 2 of the accompanying drawing, one will see that this member is provided with a hollow lower end in which is rotatably placed a worm screw 26 on the upper end of the vertically disposed shaft 27, which projects downwardly beyond the lowermost end of the aforesaid downwardly extending member 14 to terminate in the knurled knob 28, which sets the length of the cartridge to be trimmed, as will hereinafter be described in the way in which this novel invention is used. The worm screw 26 engages the rack teeth 29 on the face' of the cartridge elevation member 30, which has the shape of an inverted L when viewed from the side, andwhich has its aforesaid face formed to slide within V-shaped guide in the aforesaid downwardly extending member 14, as clearly shown in FIGURE 5 of the accompanying drawing.

A free turning roller 31 of any desired cartridge diameter is vertically mounted on top of the horizontally disposed member 32 of the cartridge elevation member 30 by means of the roller shoulder screw 33, while the trimming roller 34, having a horizontally disposed trimming edge 35, is rotatably mounted on one end of the aforesaid member 15 of this invention by means of screw 36.

Only three minor details of construction of this novel invention need yet be mentioned. The collar 37 on the driving screw 17 obviously prevents the aforesaid driving screw 17 from having horizontal movement. This aforesaid collar 37 can, of course, be made integral with the driving screw if so desired. A plate 38 is secured on the outer end of the aforesaid hollow gear box 13 in order to permit inspection or replacement of the two bevel gears contained therein, or to permit the greasing of these gears. A steady plate 39, that is rectangular in form, is fixed to each side and upper end of the aforesaid cartridge elevation member 30 in order to provide additional stability to this member 30, when the same is being vertically adjusted for the trimming of a cartridge.

Although it has not been shown on the drawing for reasons of clarity, the steady plates may be suitably engraved with a horizontal indicating line that will point to suitable numerical graduations engraved vertically on the sides of the aforesaid downwardly extending member 14, thereby facilitating the vertical adjustment of this invention for the amount of cartridge to be trimmed from the same.

It is, of course, understood by those experienced in the art that, while this novel invention is designed primarily for rifle cartridges, it may also be adapted to trim cartridges of any other type of hand firearm if so desired.

The just given construction of this invention clearly shows that the device is not only a-rugged one but also one that can be utilized with maximum benefit. It is representative of the very best of modern mechanical mechanisms in order to produce a cartridge trimmer that is ahnost self-explanatory in its method of use. This cartridge trimmer that is herein described can, of course, accommodate any caliber cartridge merely by substituting roller 31 for that roller of the desired diameter for the caliber of cartridge one desires to shorten.

To adjust the length to be cut off of the cartridge after it has been placed over roller 31, one has only to rotate 3,251,114 Patented May 17,1966

the knurled knob 28 that will, of course, elevate or lower the cartridge elevation member 30, on which the afore said roller 31 is secured. To actually trim the cartridge to its desired length after the above noted adjustment has been made, one has only to grasp the cartridge to be trimmed in one hand and the cartridge trimmer in the other hand with two fingers and the thumb on the knurled knob 24 and turn the entire device in a clockwise motion. To feed the trimming roller 34 into the trimming position, one need only rotate the aforesaid knurled knob 24 with the third finger of ones right hand, which will cause the member 15 to slide the trimming roller 34 in a position whereby the trimming edge 35 will cut or trim the cartridge as the entire device is rotated, as has already been described.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my cartridge trimmer without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim:

1. A cartridge cutter comprising, a frame Whose top is a horizontal bed, the frame having an end at substantially right angles to said bed, a cartridge elevation member having a side slidably secured to said end to move in a vertical direction and a substantially flat top, a cylindrical member of a size to fit inside a cartridge case secured to said substantially flat top with the axis extending in a vertical direction, a cutter support member slidably secured to said bed to move towards and away from said cylinder, a cutter mounted on said member and directed towards said cylinder, means for adjusting the position of said cartridge elevation member and means for adjusting the position of said cutter support member.

2. The combination of claim 1 in which the securing means for the cylinder includes a shaft extending axially through said cylinder to rotatably secure the cylinder to the cartridge elevation member.

3. The combination of claim 1 in which the cutter is a disk having a sharp circular edge and a shaft extends vertically through said disk and is secured to said cutter support member.

4. The combination of claim 1 in which the means for adjusting the position of the cartridge elevation member includes a knob and the means for adjusting the position of the cutter support member includes a knob.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS RICHARD H. EANES, JR; Primary Examiner. 

1. A CARTRIDGE CUTTER COMPRISING, A FRAME WHOSE TOP IS A HORIZONTAL BED, THE FRAME HAVING AN END AT SUBSTATIALLY RIGHT ANGLES TO SAID BED, A CARTRIDGE ELEVATION MEMBER HAVING A SIDE SLIDABLY SECURED TO SAID END TO MOVE IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION AND A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT TOP, A CYLINDRICAL MEMBER OF A SIZE TO FIT INSIDE A CARTRIDGE CASE SECURED TO SAID SUBSTANTAILLY FLAT TOP WITH THE AXIS EXTENDING IN A VERTICAL DIRECTION, A CUTTER SUPPORT MEMBER SLIDABLY SECURED 